You’ll notice on the upper right hand side of this page, I inserted a (quasi) desperate plea for financial assistance. Hopefully, some kind hearted souls will take me up on it (ASAP!). I think I have the money covered with another check coming in this weekend, but I do not want to get stuck and leave my friends and roomates in the lurch. I really do appreciate any and all help received during times like these. It means a lot to me that people value what I am doing in such a way as they are willing to help out.

My entire attitude towards money has changed over this past month. I have been spending a lot more of it, but doing so with much greater intention, and hopefully with greater effect in the world and on those around me. Recently while walking I found a one dollar bill in Monopoly money on the ground. I picked it up and kept it. I actually put it into the clip of my wallet, so that every time I go to reach for money, I am reminded that it is simply a symbolic token and nothing more.

I was telling my friend Garrett about this the other night (at the Grand Illusion Theatre, no less - where I will shortly be volunteering), and outlined my plans to get more Monopoly money, or make up my own similar fake money, and start handing it out to people alongside any real money I actually end up paying with. Just as a little reminder this is all a game. It can be a very fun game if you are winning. And it can be a very stressful game if you are not.

The way I am trying to play this game, lately, is with a new underlying assumption to govern my actions. That root assumption can be summarized as:

EVERYBODY HAS ENOUGH, EVERYBODY WINS

It has been a challenge re-wiring my attitudes towards money like this, but like all the other challenges I have been putting myself through, it has been working. Even though I am down at the moment, as far as money goes, I do not *feel* down - which is perhaps a subtle difference that only I can appreciate. But oh well.

The next morning after I told Garrett about my fake money idea, he sent me this photo of a peculiar piece of paper which had gotten stuck to his shoe:

Coincidence? Yes. And not the only one. I ate lunch yesterday with my former landlord, with whom I have become close friends (my sailing partner, actually). He related to me a bizarre story that happened to his young son. His son was driving in a car with his friend and his friend’s mother. A gold Mercedes blasted past them, and suddenly they saw a flutter of paper trailing off that car. The paper began striking their windshield. One hundred dollar bills. They stopped the car, got out, and gathered what he described as “armfuls” of money. Shortly thereafter the Mercedes stopped, backed up and rolled up alongside them. The driver was said to be “sweating profusely” and rolled down only his back window and waited. The mother approached the man and pointed out that he had left his wallet on top of the car. Supposedly there was still a “stack” of bills in it. The man said nothing and waited until the children dumped the hundred dollar bills in through the back window and then drove off. Not a thank you. Not a whoops. Nothing.

How weird of a story is that? Between these three events, it seems that I am caught in the midst of Synchronicity City with regards to the funny money issue. And that is alright, because I think I have some things worked out. The other afternoon I put together a master plan which, when it is all worked out, will make it so that everyone I am close with and care about will be able to have a job (if they want it) doing what they love for the rest of their lives. I think this is a fairly noble goal, but I am not doing it for recognition. I am doing it because I want to give back to everyone around me who has made me richer as a person (financially and, more importantly, otherwise!) and I want to be able to spread the wonderful gifts which I have received in my life to other people.

Once I get that ball rolling, I would also like to be able to begin giving back to the online community which has so enriched my explorations and experience these many years. One of the goals I have is to set up a simple system to connect creative people in need of funds to finish a particular project to people who value that sort of thing and can contribute. Almost like little mini-scholarships for people doing cool work in various fields. It would basically be a way for me to leverage my online recognition and network of people to help out others who are struggling to create a place for themselves and their work. Because believe me, I know exactly how that feels and every little bit helps.

And, by the way, thank you once again for all your contributions in the past, be they monetary, or just words of support. They mean the world to me. I will keep you updated on the progress of my master plan and the various sub-projects which feed into it as they progress over these next few months. Lots of things in the works, and it is my sincere hope - no, my firm knowledge, that this will work out, that everyone will have enough and everyone will win.